1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to playing keyboard music, and more specifically to a new method of writing keyboard music without utilizing the traditional lines and staff notations.
2. Prior Art
The most common and widespread method of representing keyboard music is the traditional lines and staff approach. The traditional lines and staff method serves the needs of many keyboard players very well and enables the keyboard players that are trained in it a broad range of musical expressions from the simple to the complex.
The historical utility of traditional lines and staff notation is certainly evident as seen in the powerful Sonatas and orchestrations composed by classical artists like Mozart, Ludwig von Beethoven and Chopin. However, despite the enormous benefits of the lines and staff method it does have its drawbacks. The first drawback is the fact that the lines and staff method is by its very nature very technical, and this technical aspect makes mastering the method a tedious and cumbersome task, especially for young learners. The U.S. Pat. No. 5,998,720 issued to Beatty draws attention to the fact that many young children have difficulty learning the lines and staff method even when it is presented to them on charts and attractive color schemes, and Beatty also refers to the lines and staff concept as being too “complex” for some children to learn.
The problems mentioned so far may account for why so many young people become discouraged and drop out of keyboard training so early in the game. Another inherent weakness in the traditional method is that in the past it has been taught to many people without regard for ear training, but with an overemphasis on rigor.
The U.S. Pat. No. 5,685,724 issued to Bubar makes mention of the Suzuki method in Suzuki's attempts to teach ear training utilizing the traditional lines and staff approach, but surprisingly Bubar concludes that Suzuki's employment of the traditional method many times made ear training a tedious process.